


Humble Pie

by madlysanecatlady



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gladnis, M/M, Oh my oh my, gladio admitting he's wrong?, when friends fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 01:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14225676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madlysanecatlady/pseuds/madlysanecatlady
Summary: In which Gladio admits that maybe, just maybe he was a bit unfair to Noctis. And mayyybe he was wrong. And perhaps Ignis was right.





	Humble Pie

**Author's Note:**

> Me, trying something new and boom, turning it right back into fluffytown.

'Come now, Gladio, he’s not so bad as that,' Ignis rolled his eyes at his best friend’s latest tirade about the “spoiled brat” prince. 'He certainly wouldn’t have intended to cause trouble for you or your sister. I believe he might be lonely here in the Citadel. I’m certainly no fun to talk to.’

'Course you are,' Gladio frowned. 'Talking to you, even about that idiot is my favourite part of the day.’

Ignis’ smiled. 'The kind sentiment is appreciated, but more to the point, his Highness is not a malicious child, merely one who would do well to think his actions through every so often.’

'But that’s the point isn’t it? How am I supposed to train a kid who doesn’t even have a basic grasp of cause and effect? He should’ve known how much trouble him and Iris running off around the gardens would cause for the rest of us; it’s not exactly a giant logical leap to make.’

'You’re holding him to the standards of an adult recruit,' Ignis’ cut in gently before Gladio could start up another grumpy rant. 'He's still quite young, is he not? A lot of things you take for granted that your recruits can suss out are things he still needs to be taught. Or well, in this case learn by doing.’

'You baby him too much,' Gladio grumbled. 'He's never gonna learn a damned thing if you keep that up.’

'Someone needs to make up for you,' Ignis was starting to get annoyed. Why in the world would Gladio come to him with his problems and not be willing to listen to reason? Ignis was really beginning to wonder what had caused Gladio’s intense dislike for the prince they both served. It wasn’t as if Noctis were, well, alright, perhaps his highness could do with a few additional manners lessons, and perhaps a pep talk in the way of giving him a little motivation, but he wasn’t a bad or malicious child. He simply could not find a logical reason behind the almost outright hatred Gladio seemed to feel for the boy.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Gladio looked just as annoyed.

‘It means that you’re too hard on him,’ Ignis huffed. ‘Have you any idea how difficult it is to actually _get_ him to his practise sessions with you? He never wants to go because your expectations are entirely too high. He thinks there’s no point in training since he’ll never be any good. That’s no attitude with which to learn.’

‘You said it, his attitude’s shit,’ Gladio steadfastly refused to see reason, stubborn mule that he was. Generally, Ignis was rather fond of Gladio’s ability to simply stick with something no matter the adversity he faced, but in this instance, Ignis wished he would simply let it go.

‘That’s not what I meant and you know it.’

‘Then what did you mean Ignis? You meant to just cover for him and smooth everything over again like you always do? He’s a spoiled brat because people keep waiting on him hand and foot. He’s never going to learn any sort of discipline if everyone keeps dropping everything to help him the second he asks,’ Gladio was getting visibly angry now. ‘He’s never going to amount to anything if he doesn’t get some sort of work ethic soon.’

Ignis frowned. He rarely saw Gladio so annoyed he actually descended into anger before. That aside, he could probably count the amount of times he had seen Gladio angry on a single hand. He was beginning to wonder if some of this wasn’t rooted in jealousy, the way Gladio kept talking about the prince being so spoiled. Was Gladio perhaps a little envious of what he considered to be an easy life?

‘C’mon Iggy, you have to see it,’ Gladio was unrelenting. ‘No matter what you’re doing at any given time, if Prince Charmless calls, you drop everything and run over to him.’

Ignis frowned. Was Gladio honestly trying to fault him for doing his job well? He shook his head. ‘You have your job, which is training his Highness to defend himself, and I have mine, which is ensuring his needs are met. They are, if you’ll notice, drastically different. So yes, perhaps we’ve taken different approaches.’

‘Ignis, that’s not the point! The point is you and everyone else are just spoiling him. How the hell am I supposed to teach him anything if he can’t even grasp what it’s like to work hard?’

Ignis was poised to retort, but his attention was stolen by the cheerful dinging of his mobile. He looked down to find a text from one of the maids telling him that Noctis was asking for him and seemed upset. He sighed and looked up at Gladio, knowing full well how sour his expression was. ‘Not that I don’t think this is a _very_ productive discussion, but his Highness is asking for me and if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go ahead and drop everything to heed his every beck and call.’

Gladio’s expression darkened. ‘Of course you are. You always do.’

Ignis rolled his eyes and left, shutting the door to Gladio’s office slightly harder than he needed to. Taking a moment to take a deep breath and clear his annoyance, he started off towards the prince’s room.

‘No, I want to talk to Ignis,’ he heard Noctis arguing with one of the maids he approached. Ignis sighed. It sounded as though the prince was in one of his fouler moods this evening.

‘I’m right here, Highness,’ Ignis gave a weary sigh as he entered, nodding at the maid who seemed quite happy to have a chance to escape. He took another deep breath before smiling at the prince, sitting down in his desk chair to look at the child sitting on his bed and looking upset. ‘What’s the matter, Noctis?’

‘You’re Gladiolus’ friend, right?’ Noctis asked quietly, looking down at the quilt on his bed.

‘I am,’ Ignis was taken aback. His friendship with Gladio was certainly not what he expected to be called over to discuss with the young prince. ‘Why, Noct?’

‘I’m worried,’ Noctis shrugged, still refusing to look up and meet Ignis’ gaze.

‘What about? Training? Are you worried he’ll be harder on you now after that spot of trouble today? I can try and talk to him,’ Ignis wanted to march right back down and give Gladio a piece of his mind about how much he was upsetting Noctis with his frankly unacceptable attitude.

‘No, not about me,’ Noctis shook his head. ‘About that girl, Iris. She’s his sister, right? What if… like what if he found out the truth about what really happened today? Would he, I dunno, punish her or be mean to her or something?’

‘What’re you talking about, Noct?’ Ignis frowned. ‘Are you saying things happened a little differently than you said they did earlier?’

Noctis nodded, still resolutely looking down. Ignis could see tears welling up in Noctis’ downcast eyes and felt his heart aching for the child he had spent all his time caring for since he had grown into a teenager.

‘What really happened? I promise it will be alright. I’ll make sure of it,’ Ignis didn’t really know what he was promising, but he didn’t care. He would say anything to try and take some of the hurt he could see him feeling away.

‘I didn’t ask her to play,’ Noctis sniffled. ‘She chased a cat outside and got lost. I heard her crying and I went to see what was going on. I saw how mad Gladiolus was so I just said it was my fault. I know he already hates me; I don’t want him to hate his little sister too. She’s really nice and she loves him a lot. I don’t want to ruin anything for her.’

Ignis felt his annoyance with his best friend double. His gruff and unrelentingly harsh treatment of the prince had come far enough. The minute he was done calming Noctis down, he was marching right back down there and telling Gladio enough was enough. But first, he had a prince to console.

He moved from the chair to sit next to Noctis, patting his back gently. ‘It’ll be alright, Noct. I know Gladio has been… unkind towards you during your training sessions. That’s simply how he is. He expects the absolute best from everyone and will keep pushing, even to the point of meanness, until they get there. He doesn’t _hate_ you,’ Ignis knew that was probably a lie, but this was about making Noctis feel better, not about being truthful. He squeezed Noctis’ shoulder. ‘You did a really nice thing for Iris today. You kept her from getting in trouble, which is commendable. Of course, it’s wholly unnecessary if you’re concerned about how Gladio would react. He loves his sister very much. Yes, he might be angry about her having caused so much trouble, but he would never hate her. I know you don’t tend to get to see it, but Gladio is capable of a great deal of love and kindness. I hope he one day lets you see that as well. Of course, he can be a little shy about that. It’s difficult getting recruits to respect you when you are a good decade younger than they are. But all you need to know is that he is committed to training you to the best of his ability, and in return he expects you to do your best. Do you think you can continue doing that, even when it feels impossible?’

Noctis nodded. He finally looked up, sniffling and using his arm to wipe his eyes. ‘You’re really good friends with him, aren’t you? You like him a lot.’

Ignis smiled. _Like_ really wasn’t the word for it, but he really didn’t want to be having _that_ particular discussion with the prince just yet. He merely nodded. ‘I do. And I like to think I know him better than most. So you can trust me when I tell you everything will be ok. Would you like me to talk to him for you? I could try and get him to ease up a little.’

Noctis shook his head. ‘No, don’t bother. I just need to work harder, right? I just need to get better.’

Ignis turned to give the boy a hug, immense pride welling up in his chest. ‘I’m very proud of you, Noct. You’ve done an immensely kind thing today _and_ you’ve shown responsibility and determination far beyond your years. You will make a great king one day.’

‘Not for a long time,’ Noctis sighed. ‘Dad says I have a long way to go.’

‘We all do,’ Ignis assured him with a smile. ‘We’re all still learning and growing every day. You’re not in this alone, Noct. Never forget that.’

‘Thanks, Ignis,’ Noctis finally smiled back. ‘Could you… could you _not_ say anything to him? Like, about any of this? I don’t want to cause trouble for you with your friend because I lied.’

Ignis wasn’t sure he could keep a promise to do that, given how much he wanted to strangle the big buffoon he somehow couldn’t help but love at the moment. Instead he shook his head. ‘You won’t, Noct. Don’t you dare worry for a second that you’ll cause trouble by doing a good thing.’

That seemed to placate the boy, who yawned. ‘Thanks Ignis. I feel a lot better now.’

‘Sometimes a friendly ear is all you need,’ Ignis told him sagely. ‘I will always be here to help when you need me.’

Noctis smiled. ‘Go home, Ignis. You must be tired too. I am.’

‘Then get some sleep,’ Ignis stood up and stretched, very tired indeed. ‘You have a big day of school and training tomorrow. You need to get enough sleep to give it your best.’

Ignis waved goodbye as he left the room, not planning on heading home until he found Gladio and had a long, stern talk with him. He was done standing idly by while he cause the prince so much distress. Loved one doing them or no, there were some things Ignis simply could not abide.

 

-

 

Gladio had avoided Ignis on his way out of the citadel, pleased he had managed to leave without being seen. The bespectacled advisor had looked even angrier after going to see the prince, and Gladio wasn’t eager to pick up their argument from where they’d left off. He hated fighting with Ignis, and Ignis had looked ready to continue their argument where they left off. Gladio much preferred to give them both the night to cool off rather than risk damaging their friendship. Ignis was one of the most important people in his life; Gladio hadn’t been about to let the stupid prince’s idiotic actions today affect their relationship.

And now he was extremely grateful he had done so. Gladio felt like a complete idiot. Iris had confessed what really happened to him that night when he got home. She had told him how Noctis had _covered_ for her, taken the blame so she wouldn’t get into trouble. Gladio had seriously underestimated the kid, _clearly._ He was acting more mature than Gladio had, at least. Lying in bed, staring at his ceiling, Gladio knew he had messed up. Not only had he been unfair to Noctis, he had also been unfairly harsh with Ignis. He knew he needed to apologise.

Gladio sighed and turned on his side trying to get comfortable so he could get some damned sleep already. He had a lot of making up to do.

 

-

 

Ignis approached the training room Gladio used with Noctis and frowned when he didn’t hear the sounds of training actually happening. Was Gladio still being unfair to the prince? Had he stooped so low as to actually refuse to train him? Intending to march right in there and set him straight, Ignis went over to the open door and peered inside, pausing when he saw Gladio sitting on the floor next to Noctis, talking to him.

As Ignis watched, it became apparent that Gladio was speaking words of encouragement. He watched in wonder as a smile began to spread across Noctis’ face. As they stood up to resume training, Ignis felt a smile of his own spreading across his face. It would appear he had misjudged Gladio a little. Ignis was glad of it. He had not been looking forward to another argument.

His eyes met Gladio’s after a few more rounds of Noctis trying and failing to land a strike and Gladio smiled, lowering the wooden sword he was using. ‘Alright kid, time to call it a day. You did better.’

Noctis nodded and turned to spy Ignis. He frowned. ‘What’s up, Ignis? Does dad need me somewhere or something?’

Ignis shook his head. ‘No, I came to look in and see how you were doing. I’m pleasantly surprised.’

‘You’re always surprised if I do better at something than you think I will,’ Noctis grumbled, rolling his eyes. ‘S’not my fault you’re perfect at everything.’

Ignis chuckled. ‘Go do your homework, Noctis. I’ll check in on you before I leave.’

Noctis accepted his dismissal, storing the wooden blade he had been using in its place on the way out. Gladio stretched out his back and stored his own weapon before turning to Ignis with a heavy sigh.

‘It’s a good thing you’re a good cook, Iggy, because I’m about to eat a heaping serving of humble pie you’re going to be serving up.’

Ignis frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean you were right, and I was really, really wrong,’ Gladio shrugged. ‘He’s a good kid. Iris told me last night that she was the one who ran off and that if it hadn’t been for Noctis she would have been lost outside for who knows how long. Anything could’ve happened to her. And then Noctis took the blame to keep her out of trouble. That was damn prince-like behaviour. I think you’re rubbing off on him.’

‘I like to think I’ve been able to influence him in a positive manner,’ Ignis felt his cheeks pink ever so slightly. ‘I have to say, I’m quite pleased to see you both getting along… I hadn’t relished the idea of arguing with you some more today.’

‘Me neither. I hate fighting with you,’ Gladio smiled. ‘It’s never good for my ego; you’re usually right.’

Ignis snorted. ‘And don’t you ever forget it.’ He paused for a minute, thinking on how best to phrase his next statement. ‘I’m pleased you’ve had this change of heart, Gladio. Noctis could use a few more people in his corner.’

‘Yeah, well, I was being a stubborn idiot. You know me, big _and_ stubborn as a catoblepas. I was unfair to the kid, really I was being a dick, and you were right to call me out on that.’

‘You know, for a moment last night I wondered if you were perhaps a little bit jealous of his Highness, the way you kept going on and on about his being a spoiled brat.’

Gladio looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged. ‘I mean, in a way, yeah, I kind of am jealous of him.’

‘Oh? Really?’ Gladio looked a little shy, if not a little nervous. Ignis was effectively intrigued.

‘I mean, yeah,’ Gladio ran a hand through his cropped hair. ‘Every time he calls you just drop everything and run over to him, no matter what. I have to fight your damned paperwork to get even a bit of your attention. I mean, how many times have we been doing something and you just run off because the prince just decided to throw a tantrum or something?’

Ignis froze. Whatever he had been expecting Gladio to say, this certainly wasn’t it. He eyed the blush creeping up Gladio’s face, the downward casting of his eyes, and the nervous expression eating away at his face and smiled. ‘Gladio, you have a lot more of my attention than you know,’ he told him quietly. ‘Honestly, you do.’

Gladio’s eyes flicked up to him uncertainly, landing on Ignis’ soft expression. He took a cautious step forward. ‘I, uh, I kind of hope I’m not misunderstanding and about to really embarrass myself here…’

Ignis met his step forward with one of his own, a mischievous smile overtaking his face. ‘The only way you can embarrass yourself right now is by not following through and kissing me.’

Gladio grinned and leaned down, pressing his lips gently to Ignis’. Ignis threw his arms around his neck, holding him down at his awkward angle until he had his fill, or at least, until he needed to breathe, which was far too soon for his liking.

He smiled up at his best friend. ‘There, now. There’s no need to be jealous. You have my attention in a way his highness could never dream of having.’

‘He better not even dream it,’ Gladio smirked, liking the way Ignis smiled at him with his soft, loving expression. ‘I promise I’ll get jealous.’

Ignis rolled his eyes. ‘You’re my favourite idiot. Although, you have done the intelligent thing today and admitted I was right again.’

‘Yeah well,’ Gladio leaned down to kiss him briefly again. ‘This particular humble pie is pretty delicious.’


End file.
